Farmlife

                                                              
     When I was  young, I had a number of favorite books. One which I read and reread was Dean and Don Go to the Dairy.  It told the story of two boys who when they reached the age of nine were each allowed to select a calf to raise. One boy chose a Jersey while the other chose a Holstein. Through the rest of the story you learned what went into raising cows. I'm not sure why I enjoyed it so much, but I do know it was one of my favorite books which brings me to yesterday morning.
     The other night I had seen posted in the South Shore Camera Club messages that two photographers would be doing some farm photography on Friday morning. One was Carol Smith, an excellent photographer whose blog I follow and a link to which may be found at the bottom of this page. I decided to join them. We met at 6:00am in Abington and off we went. The first farm was in West Bridgewater. When we pulled up to the fence, the cows were way out in the field, but they soon came galumping at a good clip across the pasture down to the hay stations near the barn for breakfast. One in particular seemed to keep an eye on me.

     Next it was on to Lolans Farm on Thompson Street in Middleboro. Sue, one of the owners of the farm, graciously allowed us to photograph her property. She even showed us her day old chicks.    

Just look at the variety of eggs that she gets from her hens each day.

   The very best part was that she allowed us to watch the milking process. It was fascinating.

The cows calmly entered from the back of the barn and took their places with encouragement from Sue as she called to them by name. She explained the process as it went along. Soon it was time for this group to exit the front of the building passing by the three of us standing behind a half door. I'm smiling as I recall how each cow stuck its head over the door to check us out. Who knew cows were so curious!

     I know that farming is a hard way to make a living, but without romanticing it, it also must be a wonderful way of life being in touch with the land and the seasons. Support our local farmers, and God bless them!

                                    

   And finally, here is a photo which looks like an homage to Georgia O'Keefe.